


Eye of the Hurricane

by 0nwards



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Exchange Student Hosts Martha and George, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Modern AU, Omitting character tags because there's way too many, Princeton AU, Slow Build, This is therapeutic for me, abuse recovery, sorry alex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-11
Updated: 2017-01-11
Packaged: 2018-09-16 19:19:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9286211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/0nwards/pseuds/0nwards
Summary: Alex manages to leave Nevis and slowly has to piece his life back together."Alexander wanted to cry.  He wanted to rage and scream and make himself appear strong enough that he would never be a target again, yet at the same time he wanted to curl up abd completely forget the outside world.  He could do none of those things.  Instead, he picked up the phone."





	

**Author's Note:**

> This chapter does have (in my opinion) vague descriptions of molestation and abuse of power. If that bothers you, read up to the first cut, then continue after the second.

The air was hot and humid and the street was unusually calm, the ocean waves were just barely audible in the distance.An alarm pierced the quiet and Alexander jumped.Hastily he turned off his phone and put the book aside, groaning a bit.Thank goodness for modern technology.Alex knew he could get lost in his own little world, and being late wasn’t exactly the best way to keep his job.

Alex exited his apartment and winced as the hot summer air hit him.It was days like this that made him regret not owning a car.The walk to work was short, but sweat was rolling down his forehead by the time he made it to the shop.

He opened the door stifled a sigh as the bell rang.One could only hear it so many times before it began to drive you crazy, but at least the air conditioning was a welcome reprieve.He nodded to Sam, the girl currently manning the cash register, and made his was to the back where his station was. 

The chair squeaked as he sat down and the familiar smell of ink and fresh paper wafted up as Alex retrieved his supplies from the drawer.  Copying wedding invitations was a monotonous task, but it left plenty of time to let his thoughts wander.

The weight of the pen in his hand was comforting.Alex much preferred this to working in the main part of the shop, it paid better too.Nowadays most people got their invites for special occasions printed, but people with enough money would pay for custom calligraphy and hand foiling.

The scratch of the pen across paper was soothing and Alexander’s mind drifted off.A hand suddenly appeared on his's shoulder, and he jumped, causing his pen to skate across the page and leave a bold black streak.Alex inhaled deeply once he realized who was behind him.Eric.A pool of dread grew in his stomach, unbidden.

 

* * *

For the longest time, Alex had regarded Eric as the father he never had. After Alex’s father left, his mother had gotten a job at Eric’s shop, and after she died and his brother fled, he had taken her place.Eric and his wife Alice had even let Alex stay with them until he was old enough for his own apartment. 

In addition, Alexander had opportunities at the shop he could have only dreamt of.Jobs on Nevis were scarce, and yet her was lucky enough to be an assistant manager.That was simple enough, he simply made sure that the shop kept running and the other employees were on time when Eric and Alice were away. He hoped that would look good on his college applications in addition. 

The Tellmans had always been affectionate, and despite the lack of family Alex had never been starved for love growing up. 

Alice ran a card making business out of the back of the shop while Eric ran the business side, although he would help his wife if she had a lot of orders.When Alice slammed her hand in the door and broke a few fingers, Alex took over the card making portion of the shop.When he was first beginning to learn calligraphy, Eric would grab his hand and guide it through the formation of the letters.The first few times it happened, a pit of unease had grown in Alexander’s stomach, but he quickly shook it off.He just did not like people touching him, that was all.

After a while, that became the norm, and even once Alexander mastered the basics and could officially Alice’s work, Eric was always watching over him.

One day Alice's large office-style chair was replaced with a (comfortably padded but still not ideal) stool. Eric had apologized profusely to Alexander, apparently the boy that cleaned the shop at night had accidentally broken the chair and, and with Alice out of commission and revenue down, they couldn't afford to replace it at the moment. Instead of standing next to Alexander or dragging over another chair to sit beside him, Eric began standing directly him. 

At first Alex didn’t really notice.At this point Eric was a near constant presence, it was far from abnormal for him to be watching over Alex’s work.Beside or behind, it made little difference.

During an otherwise ordinary day, Alexander was sitting at his work station and he heard the sound of footsteps approaching.They were loud, and the floor vibrated slightly.It was almost certainly Eric in his work boots.

Instead of greeting Alex, as Eric normally would, Alex felt the firm pressure of a body draped across his back.Alex, on reflex, whipped around and punched the offending person.His confusion turned to shock when he saw the expression on Eric’s face. 

“Um, sorry, I…”Alex didn’t know why he was apologizing, but it didn’t matter because he was quickly interrupted.

“What did you just do?”Eric’s face was stoney, and his eyes flawed with anger. 

Alexander gulped.“Well sir I was uncomfortable and I didn’t realize it was you.I pushed you on reflex.”He looked everywhere but Eric’s eyes.“It won’t happen again.” 

“Oh, it’s fine”Eric’s demeanor instantly changed.“Sorry for scaring you, it was an accident.It won’t happen again.”

Ignoring his churning stomach, Alex forced a smile and a little wave as Eric promptly left. 

Later that night as he lay in bed, Alex had difficulty processing his thoughts.Something felt off, but it wasn’t sexual.Was it?Was he just being too sensitive? 

He groaned and pulled the blankets up his chin.This job was too important.He just about had enough money to get to America, he just had to stick if out a few more months. 

Alexander had gotten a full ride to Columbia, but he had had to differ admission for a year in order to work full time.Breaking his arm falling down the stairs was bad enough, but even worse it had used up the valuable funds he had saved to get to America.No matter what shifty feelings he was getting from Eric, they could be put aside for now.This job was too important.Maybe _the incident,_ as he had begun referring to in in his head, just wouldn’t happen again.

At first, when Alexander went back to work, it seemed like his hopes had panned out.Eric was barely present.He would show up to check the cash register, pay workers, and maybe stick his head in the back to see how Alex was doing, but he was not even in the shop for any extended amount of time, much less hovering over Alexander’s shoulder. 

Alex remained tense for a while, but eventually fell back into his old routine. 

After about a month, Eric began showing back up at the shop, as well as talking to Alexander again.Alexander was initially hesitant, but after the man acted like everything was normal, he assumed that he had simply overreacted.That was it.Eric was practically his father, what was he even thinking?

_The incident_ happened again.Alex was slightly less startled this time, and had just barely turned his punch into a shove.Eric had stalked away without a word. 

Instead of disappearing, like the last time, Eric seemed to become omnipresent.No matter what Alex was doing, Eric seemed to be there.Not only was he there, but he was very vocal about his opinions.

Eric had always been a tough boss.He held everyone to high standards, and Alexander respected him for that.It always made him strive to do better.This was not Eric’s typical perfectionist tendencies.No, this was far worse.

At first Alex barely noticed the increase in criticism.He was fairly busy after all, and so he simply absorbed the criticism, corrected his work, and moved on. 

Eventually, however, it became overbearing.It seemed as if he could do nothing correctly, from his actual work to tasks as mundane as sweeping the floor.It took all he had to refrain from snapping at Eric, but despite the difficult conditions, Alexander still needed his job. 

Sam had quietly pulled him aside at the end of her shift one day, and whispered how she was sorry that Eric was taking everything out on him, and hopefully whatever weird mood he was in cleared up soon.

Yet again, while at his station, Alex heard the loud thumps that signaled Eric’s entry.He steeled himself for yet another lecture, but the scathing words did not come.Instead, Alexander could feel the presence of a body standing behind him.

“Now,” Eric leaned down, his mouth barely millimeters away from Alexander’s ear, “let’s try this again.”Alex stiffened, but didn’t pull away.Eric pressed himself against Alexander’s back, and wrapped his arms around Alex’s shoulders. 

“Good.”Eric pulled away.“Remember that, and things will get a lot better around here.”

At this point, Alexander knew what Eric was doing was wrong.He briefly looked up the police’s number, but hesitated.Eric was a well respected member of the community, would anyone believe Alex over him?For that matter, what did Alex have to report? 

The report would be ridiculous.  It sounded as if he was saying, “My boss hugged me and I felt uncomfortable.”Alexander scoffed.Yeah, that was definitely something the police would look into.

Just six more months, he could make it that far.Six more month of high pay, and Alex would be off to America, and he would never have to see Eric again.

For a while, this actually seemed like a better solution.  As long as Alex behaved, things went back to the way they were.  The verbal abuse stopped as long as he submitted to Eric’s demands. 

However, when Alexander disobeyed, which could be something as minuscule as a flinch, Eric would rage worse than ever.To him in this state, Alexander could do no right, and Eric did everything to make Alex’s life as miserable as possible, until yet again he submitted. 

Alex had always been a perfectionist, he had always been hard on himself, but this broke him.He had cleared out a space in an unused closet, and had taken to retreating there when he got overwhelmed.Life lost it’s color, everything was shades of grey, and every part of his body felt numb.

At first, he had tried to keep on working, despite the tears threatening to roll down his face, but Eric seemed to take that as a challenge.The shop owner appeared to have some sick fascination with making Alex cry, and would keep piling on criticism after criticism, usually fabricated, until Alex broke.In the end, instead of attempting to save face, Alex simply retreated to his closet until he could face Eric again.

It could have been bearable too, yes Alexander knew Eric was in the wrong, but he could take it.Just a few more months.

He had gotten used to the feel of Eric’s body pressed up against his, and bile barely rose when rough hands slipped up his shirt or across his body.

Eric would occasionally call Alex to him, in secluded areas of the shop.Generally Alexander could avoid it, but not always. 

Alex was in a rush, he was finishing a last minute order from an important client, when Eric called the younger man to him. 

“Not now!”Alex brushed him off.This order really needed to be done, and be done now.Whoever had processed it had neglected to tell him until the day before it had to be shipped out.

Eric’s eyes narrowed, and he began to walk away.Alexander’s blood grew cold.He had managed to stay on Eric’s good side for the past month, he couldn’t let his suffering go to waste.

“Wait, okay!”Alexa fumbled around, trying to secure his pen and ink.“I’m coming, we’re good!”

“You had your chance.”Eric stalked away, and Alexander’s heart started pounding.Oh shit oh shit oh shit.This was not going to be good. 

He quickly gathered up his things, at least he could escape home for his lunch break.

 

* * *

Alexander turned.The hand on his shoulder fell away and his breath caught in his chest.Eric was standing before him, looking just as livid as he was earlier. 

Eric threw a stack of letters down on the desk.“See these?We almost sent them out to a customer you idiot!”The letters were stained with ink blotches, and the hours of painstaking work were basically illegible. 

Holding his breath and feeling tears well in his eyes, Alex began to gather his things while Eric raged on in the background.This was it.He was done.He couldn’t do this anymore. 

While Eric continued on his tirade, Alex put his few possessions that he brought to work into his messenger bag, and walked out.  Eric’s yelling grew louder, but Alex didn’t care.  He still hadn’t gotten paid for the week, but it didn’t matter.  Anything to get out of this hellhole. 

It might have only been three months until he was to move in with his host family in America, but that only mattered if you were around to see it out.The constant abuse had pushed Alex to his breaking point.

 

* * *

Alexander wanted to cry.He wanted to rage and scream and make himself appear strong enough that he would never be a target again, yet at the same time he wanted to curl up and never see the outside world again.He could do neither of those things.

Instead, Alex picked up the phone.He had just enough money to get a plane ticket, and if he was lucky enough his host family would take him in early.  He just needed out of this place, and away from Nevis.  The island had caused him enough pain.

The number went through, and Alex tried to steady his voice.“Hi Mrs. Washington, this is your exchange student Alexander Hamilton…”

 

* * *

Less than forty eight hours later, Alexander was on a plane, and about to land in Washington D.C. He couldn't believe it, and in all honesty he wasn't entirely sure that the last few days hadn't been a dream. 

When he picked up the phone, he had barely said a word before the Washingtons were urging him to go ahead and come.  When pressed, all Mrs. Washington would say was that her son had just started break, and it would be lovely for he and Alex to have time to get to know each other before they were off to Princeton in the fall.  

With that, Alex breathed a sigh of relief.  It looks like he wouldn't have to explain his situation after all.

 

* * *

 

Upon landing, he quickly retrieved his suitcase and began surveying the crowd.  Mrs. and Mr. Washinton were supposed to meet him at the airport, but he couldn’t see anyone that matched their pictures.

“Bonjour! Alexander!”A voice boomed from behind, and Alexander whipped around.A tall man was waving at him with a huge grin across his face.“Monsieur Hamilton, it is a pleasure to finally meet you."

He took a breath and continued, just as Alexander opened his mouth to speak.“Oh yes, you do not know who I am.  Let me introduce myself.  I am  Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, although I go by the name Lafayette.That is easier to say, is it not?”  

 

When Alex still looked confused, he elaborated  "I am  the adopted son of Martha and George, they sent me to pick you up.”

That would explain how the man knew who he was.

“Why hadn’t anyone said anything?”Alex paused.“Not that I don’t believe you, but.. Well no offense but I’d have expected some warning.” 

He bit his tongue.  Damn it.  He had been holding himself back lately to avoid attracting any more of Eric’s wrath, but it had just slipped out.  Surely his host would not appreciate the snark.

Lafayette laughed and patted him on the back, seeming to not notice when Alex winced.“There was a business emergency mon petit lion, there was little time to let you know.”

“Okay, okay, that makes sense.  But really, little lion?”  A small laugh slipped out.  It hurt slightly.  How long had it been since he last laughed? 

Lafayette’s grin grew wider.“Ah, so you speak French!”He paused to take Alex’s suitcase.“You have a large personality for one so small, therefore you are a little lion.It is fitting, no?”Without waiting for Alex’s reply, he took off towards the parking garage.“I do believe this is the start of a beautiful friendship!”

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, now that that's out of the way, the actual plot can begin! 
> 
> Laf's French comes from google translate. Sorry.


End file.
